Enid had just turned 76. What a year her 75th had been. She had a little fling with Clyde, nice kid, but she shoo'd him off so he could find someone his own age. She finished her obligation to the 'contestants' of her little masturbation game, her bridge game was still going strong even though poor Lucy had to bow out for a few months after breaking her hip. She said it was from a fall, but the girls were convinced she broke it while doing the 'horizontal tango' with Clark. Clark would just smile and walk away when asked. Whereas Lucy was an 'alternate' player after Eileen, her absence didn't have a huge impact.
The sad note, her cousin Laura had passed away. Laura had been a bit of a hero to Enid. First to smoke; then the first to quit when reality set in about the dangers. She was first to get drunk, and although she knew the dangers in drinking, THAT she never stopped, just slowed down. She was the first to get her driver's license, the first to get married, the first to get divorced THEN remarried. She beat Enid into Yale by a full year. She was also the first to lose her virginity. Because growning up they were close, she and Enid confided almost everything to each other. Almost, because as Laura once said, "There's nothing wrong with keeping a FEW secrets."
Enid would drive to the cemetery every couple of days. Sometimes she'd get out of the car and just stand talking to the grave. Some days she'd just sit in the car and be at peace. Then she'd visit Foster's grave a couple of sections over. He really had been a wonderful husband and she knew she never truly appreciated him when he was alive. They had done well together and thankfully, she continued to do well.
She also had all three of her sons over for dinner a couple of nights. Scot, who had moved with his wife to Oregon wasn't often in the area and it was the first time all four had been together at the same time in over a year. Jack lived just a couple of towns over and Bobby, a couple of streets over so she was glad to see them fairly regularly, but to have all three boys over at the same time was a huge treat.
Scot had no idea about his mother's 'adventures'. Jack had a slight idea but Bobby pretty much knew though he preferred to never voluntarily think about it. Those thoughts would trigger his gag reflex. Enid never spoke about her activities, but knowing Bobby had a pretty good clue, she did enjoy innuendo now and then, just to watch his reaction.
She had enjoyed being 75 and now intended to enjoy 76.
She arrived at the Senior Center and sat down with her usual bridge buddies, Eileen, Ruth, and Roberta. All three were sitting quietly just waiting for Enid. As soon as she sat down, Eileen blurted out, "So, we have news."
"Oh, and what would that be?" asked Enid.
Ruth grinned and said, "Lucy and Clark are getting married."
"I was AFRAID he was going to knock her up," chirped Enid. They all got a kick out of that one.
Eileen added, "Well, Clark refused to use a condom and Lucy won't take the pill, it doesn't mix well with her blood pressure meds, so it was inevitable."
The four laughed away and Roberta added, "So, their first child together will be the grand uncle of their grand kids. They'll be in their 30s and grand uncle so and so will be in diapers!"
Lucy, who was sitting on a couch with her crocheting group thought she heard her name at one point and walked over to see why there was so much laughter. She hadn't put down her needles and yarn and as she walked over the fifteen feet, the yarn ball unraveled behind her. When Roberta pointed that out, the girls fell apart again, but immediately felt bad about it. Well, not entirely.
"What's all the hubbub?" asked Lucy who noticed at that moment, the yarn situation. She blew it off asking further, "Did I hear MY name mentioned?"
"We were discussing the coming nuptials," said Ruth.
"Congratulations, MRS. Bettencourt," added Enid.
"You knocked up?" asked Eileen. This got them howling again.
"No," said Lucy, then leaning in and loudly whispering, "He shoots blanks. But he's hung like a small horse."
She went back to her crocheting, picking up her yarn as she went, leaving the bridge players in hysterics. She was chuckling to herself as well but not laughing as hard as the others. She knew what she said was very true.
After the game the girls grabbed some refreshments and went into the TV room where "Let's Make a Deal" was on. When it occurred to them that their making fun of some of the contestants was getting on the nerves of the others in the room, they left and sat in the lounge.
"So, Enid, you got plans for the weekend?" asked Ruth.
"To be honest, I'm glad you brought it up. I was thinking the four of us, heck, Lucy, too, could go to a movie. We haven't done something like that in a long time," came Enid's reply.
"I love the idea," responded Eileen. "I've got nothing going on and I'd love to get away from Fred. He's becoming a real pain in the ass. I love the guy, but sheesh, it's like he wants me to wait on him hand and foot."
"He IS an invalid," Roberta reminded her.
"Yes, yes I know, but he CAN change the channel on the TV for himself and feed himself. Even the visiting nurse was ready to kill him the other day." Eileen sighed and went on, "He's really playing this thing for all it's worth. And he's not really an invalid, he broke his hip and he's healing. He's in pain, I've been there, I know it's not easy, but oh my God, you would think he was on his death bed."
"You're a good wife."
"I'm alright, but I come here to escape now and then. The visiting nurse shows up for his care and physical therapy and I scoot down here for an hour or two or three. It keeps me sane. It's also nice to have Jerry stopping by so often," Eileen said.
"He's a good son," said Roberta, adding, "unlike my son Stephen who would rather shack up with his girlfriend 500 miles away."
They all rolled their eyes at that one. Roberta's son Stephen lived only four towns over and because he didn't visit every day, she acted like he had abandoned her. They realized after a bit that no matter what they said, she was convinced and they had finally just given up.
The day ended when Eileen said it was time to head back to help her poor crippled husband and Roberta needed to get back to her plants. Enid said she'd drop Ruth off at home. She asked, "How's Benny doing at his new job?"
Ruth's husband Benny, after a long career as a firefighter had retired then gotten bored so he took a job part time as a cashier at the local supermarket. Ruth replied, "He loves it. Not only does he see so many friends and neighbors, but the guys from the fire house are in all the time buying groceries. It gets him out of the house and puts a few extra dollars into our vast estate. In no time, we'll have the Rolls paid off and be able to afford that jet we've talked about for years."
"I thought you were planning to buy that golf course in Scotland? What happened to that plan?" asked Eileen.
"We didn't like it. It turned out to be too close to the coast. Hank was convinced he'd lose too many balls in the ocean," came the reply.
"You're done retrieving his balls, right?" asked Roberta.
