Chapter 2 Not Mr. Roger's Neighbourhood
Both Bob and Tom happened to work for companies which allowed their employees to compensate for overtime work either by taking cash or taking time off in lieu. So when the two men had to travel or work on a Sunday or a Saturday, they exercised their option by taking days off on weeks when no business trips were scheduled. Given their long and/or frequent absences, the men thought it was only fair to take time off in lieu so that they devotes themselves to their lovely wives. In this particular, week, Bob took Monday off while Tom took both Monday and Tuesday off.
On Monday, Jane and Tom were enjoying the sun in their backyard. Knowing that Bob was also home, they made a point of inviting Beth and Bob to join them.
Beth hesitated at first but then agreed to accompany Bob in accepting their neighbours' invitation. As long as her husband was present, she felt safe.
The men were talking about the abysmal Maple Leafs again and what could be done to make them winners. Bob was obviously a be-Leaf-er while Tom light-heartedly mocked him and his favourite hockey team. The women were temporarily stuck with each other's company.
"I'm sorry, Beth. I really am," Jane apologized. "I had no idea that I had taken you to a lesbian bar. I had never been in it. I just assumed it was a regular bar. I didn't know its clientele was lesbian. It was as much a surprise to me as it was to you, It didn't take long for me to realize we were in no ordinary bar. I didn't want to alarm. It was a mistake not to tell you as soon as I realized where we were. Instead, I behaved in a way that made it worse. The place was for hardcore lezzies, women with absolutely no interest in men. And I'm no confirmed lezzie," she added, trying to assure Beth. "Believe me when I say, I can't go through life without a hot live dick in my pussy! That's Tom's job," she said giggling.
Beth knew Jane to be a warm and generous person. The two women had taken an instant liking to each other ever she and Bob had moved to the neighbourhood. Her straight-forwardness was often refreshing but sometimes bordered on crassness. Her crassness impinged on Beth's sensibilities and made her uncomfortable. Jane was an open and delightfully authentic in her own rough way. Beth could always count on her. If Jane made a mistake, she owned up to it.
Unknown to Beth, Jane felt a need to watch over and protect her delicate little neighbour when her husband was on a business trip. Beth was unaware of her sentiment until months after their neighbourly friendship had begun.
As for the choice of bars, Jane explained that her choice was based solely on its proximity to their neighbourhood. She had no idea it was a lesbian hangout. "If I had known," Jane said, "I would not have taken you there. Please say you forgive me," Jane continued. "I want us to be friends again."
Jane was profusely sincere in her apologies. After a few minutes, Beth finally decided to give her neighbour some slack. "Okay, okay, Jane, I believe you."
How could she not? She did like the woman. She had helped her adapt to her new neighbourhood. She enjoyed her company. She was fun. Their friendship helped to take some of the sting out of Bob's absences when he was away on his business trips. Plus, their husbands got along so well. They had fun as couples although occasions to socialize were infrequent.
Later that evening, Beth dissected that their conversation in her mind. For starters, she realized, Jane did not specifically apologize for the kiss in the lesbian bar. She made no reference to it. That could be explained away as Jane avoiding a sensitive topic.
Unlike Bob who was decisively emphatic about his heterosexuality, Jane was remarkably sanguine about their experience in the bar. Beth also thought that her use of the words 'confirmed lezzie' was rather odd. 'What's an unconfirmed lezzie?' she asked herself.
* * *
Both men spent the rest of the week working either from home or in their home office. All in all, they had nine straight days, with many of their evenings devoted to their love lives. On Monday, both were gone once more and were scheduled to return on Friday.
Their departure suddenly created a moment of awkwardness between the two housewives. For Jane, it was a matter of overcoming the stumble in their friendship, but she knew her friend would probably be still a little wary of her. Beth, on the other hand, was still mulling over her experience in the bar and Jane's role in it. She would have a difficult time not to show some degree of wariness.
Because she was responsible for what had happened, Jane wanted to take the initiative in repairing their friendship, but she held back, deciding to let Beth set the pace and choose the moment when she would feel comfortable enough to talk to her again. At the same time, she had no intention of sacrificing her own authenticity just because her little neighbour was overly sensitive about some things. In short, she would be the same person Beth had known ever since she and Bob had moved into the neighbourhood.
For her part, Beth was still wondering how Jane managed to deal with Tom's long and frequent absences and for so many years too. And yet, their relationship was obviously harmonious, even loving. 'They must be doing something right,' Beth told herself, wondering what Jane's secret was.
Beth had missed Jane's company. Boredom and the need for friendship was already pushing away her wariness toward Jane. She wanted to find out from Jane what kept their marriage going, but that meant asking highly personal questions, questions on topics that were really none of her business, questions only good friends could ask.
Jane had openly admitted that she masturbated when Tom was away. Based on her own experience, Beth didn't think that masturbation was a particularly satisfying way of dealing with sexual frustration, at least in the longer run. Jane didn't come across as a woman who spent her time masturbating all the time. There was more to her neighbour's story. She was sure of it.
On Thursday, when both women happened to be outside in their backyards, Beth blurted. "How do you keep yourself from going crazy busy when Tom's away?"
"Hey neighbour," Jane greeted. "Come on over. I don't want to disturb our other neighbours by yelling out an answer to you."
'Good point,' Beth thought. She walked over and said in a normal voice, "Bob isn't away as much as Tom, and it drives me crazy. You've been doing it for years! How do you do it? What do you do?" She blushed at the last two questions. She already had a partial answer. Once out, it was too late to take those questions back. "You can't possibly be doing housework all day long, every day. I know you go out once in a while, not that I'm nosy or complaining, because that's your business."
"You mean, besides masturbating?" Jane asked.
"You're impossible, Jane. Yes, besides masturbating."
"Well, I sometimes meet with other neighbourhood wives," she started to explain. "You can call it a club or a support group. It has elements of both. It's an informal gathering of women whose husbands travel a lot. We all live within ten-minutes walking distance of each other. We sometimes get together as a group or usually we meet individually to talk and do girl stuff."
"That sounds like fun. Maybe I should join," Beth said.
Jane's reaction to her statement was not at all what she expected. She guffawed and laughed uproariously.
"What's so funny?" Beth asked.
"You are, honey. You are," she replied. "You just don't know why."
Now Beth was really perplexed. Her expression showed that she was expecting Jane to elaborate.
"I don't want to say," she finally answered.
"What?"
"You wouldn't understand."
