I guess it must have been around 1982 and I'd been married to my wife for about eight years. We had two children and we'd fallen into a routine, not a rut, a routine. My mother was more than willing to look after our children any time that we asked so we usually went out together on saturday nights and we'd take turn about going out with our own friends on a friday every other week or so although we often bumped in to some of them on our saturday nights together. For that reason, I think that I knew all of Ellen's girlfriends although I only actually liked one of them who was a good looking woman who was brow beaten and bullied by her arrogant, little husband (there's stories there that I'll probably not go into). In my opinion, her other friends thought far too much of themselves, ignored me to the point of ignorance whenever we met and basically acted as though their shit didn't stink.
I only had a handful of pals and, like Ellen's they were all married but, unlike Ellen's, Ellen and I occasionally went out as couples with my friends for a meal and a drink. The only exception to that was Penny a gay woman that I worked alongside in the factory. She was good fun but I've got to admit that she was loud and outspoken and Ellen took an instant and deep dislike to her and, maybe not coincidentally, her partner did not like me one little bit.
I didn't go drinking with Penny very often but, when I did, we got absolutely hammered which might have been one of the reasons that Ellen didn't like her, who knows?
Anyway, for some reason, I was out with Penny on a saturday afternoon (maybe it was one of those rare occasions when Ellen had fallen out and weren't talking for a few days, if that's never happened to you, you've never been in a real relationship).
Anyway, again, Penny had dragged me into a dingy basement gay bar and, being saturday afternoon, I was absolutely crowded but, after Penny greeted just about everyone present, we managed to find a tiny table in a dark corner. It was dimly lit and smelt dank and musty and the patrons were all exaggeratedly loud and acting overly camp and overly butch (that may sound homophobic but I don't believe I am, I just don't like posers and fakers no matter what their sexuality, ethnicity or religion). Besides, those present, in the main, either ignored me or treated mr like a lower form of species. I felt uncomfortable and told Penny that I'd only stay for a couple and then leave whether she went with me or not.
Another anyway, we'd been there in our quiet corner for about half an hour when in walked Jane. I'd known Jane for years, she was tall and slim, probably around five feet ten, and she had amazing long, straight, waist length dark hair that was, as usual, tied into a pony tail and she was wearing her usual skin tight jeans. I'd always kind of fancied Jane but, today, she strode in like she was making an entrance on stage and she was carrying a large handbag, something I'd never seen her with before. She stood in the doorway and swung her handbag above her head then threw it towards the bar, calling out "I've something to say, I'm gay today" and the bar erupted into whoops and howls like some american sitcom.
I was a little shocked because it had never occurred to me that she was gay but she'd obviously rehearsed he entrance and I couldn't help cringing at how tacky it was but, equally obviously, it was a huge step for her and I kind of shrank back into my seat, not wanting her to spot me and, maybe, be embarrassed by my presence. We waited until she was buried deep within the cheering crowd and quietly slipped away unnoticed.
Move forward, several years and I'd quit the factory and become a cab driver and I don't think that I'd seen Jane since that day in the gay bar when I walked into the office of the taxi company I worked for and found her standing there, our new driver. To be honest, I hadn't really thought of her in years but we greeted each other like long lost friends and, when it was quiet on the rank, we'd often sit in one of our cars and chat about this, that and nothing.
It was approaching christmas and someone organised a night out for a group of taxi drivers but Ellen decided not to go because she was sure that we'd all just be talking shop and, as it turned out, no spouses attended, probably for the same reason, so it was all guys apart from Jane and our other female driver Jenny.
In the thirty years that I drove a cab, I only knew less than ten female taxi drivers, call me sexist, but I don't think that, at least at that time, it was a suitable job for women because of having to deal with the sad arsed drunken romeos that they had to deal with and it took a special kind of woman to be able to cope.