Page 48 of The Winter of Second Chances
‘I’m with you,’ said Annie. ‘It feeds into theI can change himmentality. We shouldn’t be chasing after badly behaved, ill-mannered men. And we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be kept keen by men who treat us mean.’
The women had polished off most of the tartlets between them and Annie refilled the crisp bowl, as they continued to dissectThe Woman in White.
‘Do you think Marion was a virgin?’ asked Gemma.
‘Wilkie would have written her that way,’ said Maeve. ‘Or she couldn’t have been a heroine.’
‘Imagine that,’ said Gemma. ‘Never having sex in your life!’
‘Well,’ said Maeve, ‘she could have sorted herself out. Just because she didn’t have sex with another person doesn’t mean she didn’t enjoy the pleasures of the flesh.’
‘Maeve!’ said Gemma.
‘What?’ said Maeve. ‘Oh, you youngsters are all the same: think you invented masturbation. When my husband died, I had five children under the age of eight and a farm to run. I had precious little time to find a man to fulfil my needs, so I used my initiative.’
‘Is that what they called it in your day?’ asked Sally.
The women laughed.
‘And I’ve been using it ever since!’ said Maeve.
‘I’m surprised you had the energy,’ said Annie.
‘It helped me wind down at the end of the day,’ said Maeve.
‘Sometimes I think I like the idea of sex more than the actual sex,’ said Gemma. ‘When Brian’s away it’s all I think about but when he’s home, I’m just too tired most nights. I’d like the orgasm without all the rest of it.’
‘Which is exactly my point,’ agreed Maeve. ‘Cut out the middleman.’
‘Literally,’ said Sally.
‘At least you’re guaranteed a good time,’ said Annie. ‘Which is more than can be said sometimes for the real thing.’
Gemma clapped her hands to her cheeks and squeaked: ‘I completely forgot: you had a date with Paul!’
‘Paul the window cleaner?’ asked Maeve.
Annie felt her cheeks get hot.
‘Hmm,’ she said.
‘A date?’ said Sally. ‘Nice work. How was it?’
‘Raye said you were in The Bounty for dinner,’ said Gemma. ‘And Mrs Spencer said she saw you leaving his house on the Sunday morning.’
‘Well, it seems like the whole of Willow Bay knows exactly how it went,’ said Annie.
‘Congratulations,’ said Maeve. ‘You’re a seventies porn cliché.’
‘How so?’ asked Sally.
‘She slept with the window cleaner,’ Maeve replied.
Sally laughed loudly and Gemma choked on her wine.
‘Go ahead,’ said Annie. ‘Laugh it up.’
‘Will you see him again?’ asked Gemma.
