In the Big Apple, New York City, where just about anything and everything goes from the upper-crust wealthy who have their inner city castle-apartments in the East End and those overlooking Central Park to the bohemian lifestyle in Greenwich Village between Bleecker and West 3rd Streets, and, of course, Times Square, there is in the Village the Club Sappho. It is a private nightclub catering to the lesbian community to which one must be a member in order to enjoy what they offer to the Sapphic community. However, there are nights once a month when all women are welcome whether gay or straight, bi-sexual or bi-curious.
Club Sappho, owned and operated by Deirdre O'Reilly, is a night club where lesbians can go and feel comfortable with the surroundings, where they are accepted, and where they can enjoy the nightlife as well as the intimacy and ambiance of friends and lovers.
One of the highlights of Club Sappho is its stage show every Friday night, a stage show filled with eroticism and sensuality, a show for women performed by women. The regulars have a name for it. They call it a "Sarx Show," "sarx" being the spelling of the Greek word for "flesh." This is appropriate since the name of the club honors Sappho, the progenitor of Sapphic love.
The interior of the club is quite plush. The walls are covered with drapes of different colors, and along the top where the wall and ceiling meet are fixtures that cast subdued lighting that is picked up by the drapes which radiates it throughout the large room, including the long bar that is the color of ebony. This light is reflected back by large mirrors behind the bar. In the center of the large mirrors is an engraved etching of two women lying together and making love. They are holding one another in a sweet embrace, sharing a warm, intimate kiss. Above the etching in soft, green lights is a neon sign that reads "O'Reilly's," and below it in soft, red lights is written in neon lights "Club Sappho."
To make the place as comfortable and amenable as possible two rows of booths of alternating red and black leather run along the sides and back walls, the top row being three steps higher than the floor level ones near the stage so everyone has a good seat to watch the performance.
There is a large square stage on which the performances are given. It is carpeted in red with black markings running sporadically through it, and in the center of the stage is a thick mattress covered in blue leather. The floor around the stage and the booths is also carpeted, but it is black with red markings running through it. The two carpets are reverse images of one another, but both are red and black.
Inside and to the left of the entrance doors of the club is a small dance floor that couples use before the show begins, and beyond the dance floor is a hallway to the restrooms. One restroom is marked "Lesbians" and the other restroom is marked "Straight." Deirdre thought it was a cute idea, and it did give any woman who was straight and who was a guest of a member or who came on "Open Night" when all women were invited a ladies room of their own.
As usual on this particular Friday night the place was packed, but, again, Deirdre had made it so no one felt cramped or crowded. The women had their favorite drinks while they waited for the show to begin, filling in the time with casual girl talk. Some danced. Others were there to see if they could find someone with whom to hook up for the evening, and then in the dim light there were some who let their hands roam over their dates or steady lovers. Of course, there were those who found one to their liking and chose to be together that night whether just for the show or both the show and after. Woman's choice.
There was the usual murmur this night throughout the club when Deirdre went on stage.
"Ladies. Ladies!" she called out to get the crowd's attention in her somewhat deep, throaty voice. "Ladies, it's time for our show to begin, so stop the talking, and if you wish, get in your order for drinks before the performance begins. You know there will be no serving during the performance. There also will be no talking, but certain soft sounds are permissible," Deidre said coyly.
A nervous twitter went throughout the room after they heard this last comment Deirdre made.
Once all the orders for drinks were filled and it became quiet once more, Deirdre looked at the crowd, seeing mostly members, but there were a few unfamiliar faces, so she said, "It's good to see so many of our regulars here this evening, but I do see some new faces, too. So, whether you are a guest of a member or one who came in this Open Night when all women are welcome, "Welcome to O'Reily's Club Sappho. I'm sure you will enjoy the show. So, 'Let the show begin.'"
Deirdre left the stage and took her regular seat near it. Once she was settled, the house lights dimmed even more than they had been, and the stage lights came on, illuminating it in sharp, contrasting light.
There was a hushed silence-of-expectation, a silence that was almost palpable in the large room. Even the collective breathing was heard.
A red door opened in the back on the left side, and a beautiful young woman in a long white, flowing gown that went up around her neck and had long sleeves down to her wrists was ushered in by six equally beautiful women dressed in long, black flowing gowns that scooped around their necks. Each dress had long sleeves, too, but all had a hood on it that flowed down the back, lying in folds around the shoulders and back.
The young maiden in white had medium length, wavy, strawberry blonde hair that fluffed about her ears from which one could see post pearl earrings. She had a soft, smooth complexion with luscious red lips that were glossed that made them look full and sensual; eyebrows and eyelashes that were much darker than her hair; and very dark green eyes.
As for the six young women who ushered this young maiden into the room, all had different features that made them beautiful to see. Red or reddish auburn was the predominant hair color, but there were two who had dark hair, one whose hair had curly ringlets flowing from the sides of her head past her ears. One of the redheads had very long hair, another had long hair parted down the middle that flowed over her shoulders and down her back, and another's hair was quite short and frizzy.
As they entered the room, there was a young woman on each side of the beautiful, young maiden in white. They were holding her by her hands and had their hands on her upper arms. Two women in the black gowns walked behind her and two of the redheads, the one with long, flowing hair and the other with short, frizzy hair walked in front of her. The six women in the black, hooded gowns made the young maiden in white stand out in stark relief.
