Chapter 61
The women gathered plates, glasses, platters of food, and set them on the granite counter. “Anyone want coffee?”
Everyone bobbed their head. Suzy opened cabinet doors. “Let me help. Where are your mugs?”
Cheri nodded with her head as she pushed ‘brew’ on the coffee maker and poured cream into a miniature silver pitcher.
Suzy helped Cheri arrange the coffee-filled mugs on a platter while everyone retreated to the living room.
Alex sat cross-legged on the floor while dropping perfectly cut pieces of paper onto the carpet. “Do you have a bowl?”
Cheri giggled. “Are you kidding me? A caterer without a bowl is like a bowler without a ball.” She disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a mixing bowl.
Alex folded the squares, placed them in the dish, and stirred the paper with her fingers. “Get comfy, girls. I thought up some get-acquainted questions to help Cheri get to know us better. I typed them on my computer, printed them out, and cut them up. If she’s going to be one of the gang, she needs to know our deepest, darkest secrets, right?” Alex regarded the group as if for approval.
Hope giggled. “Only you would do this.”
Suzy snorted. “And only you would print the questions off and cut them into perfect squares.”
Alex shrugged. “I’m a perfectionist. So sue me.”
“I’m glad you did this.” Cheri crossed her legs. “Thanks for bringing the entertainment. I would like to get to know you ladies better.”
Suzy wriggled between Hope and Cheri. “Since this is your big idea, Alex, you go first.”
“Fine.” Alex reached into the bowl and drew out one of her prepared questions.
What’s your pet peeve?
“Easy except I have several.”
“Pick one,” Suzy said.
“Tailgaters. I hate it when someone rides my bumper.” She touched her cheek with her finger. “And it really gets on my nerves when people ask, ‘What was your name?’ instead of ‘What is your name?’ I always rattle off my childhood nickname or my maiden name, like my name is Alexandra Mitchell but it was—”
The women laughed. “I never thought about it that way,” Hope said.
“Wait, I have another pet peeve,” Alex said. “I hate it when people pronounce Missouri with an ‘ah’ at the end. You don’t hear people say ‘Mississippah,’ do you?”
“Another good point,” Suzy said. “You should send a press release to the media directing everyone how to pronounce the Show-Me state.”
“Ha-ha.” Alex threw a pillow at Suzy. “Maybe I will.”
Hope drew out a question. “What kind of man are you looking for?”
She groaned. “Why does it always have to be about men? I’m not looking for a man. My life is much simpler without one. I’m not, I repeat, not interested in a relationship. I like being single.”
Alex furrowed her brows. “Whatever you say, Hope, but I’m not sure I believe you. “Your turn, Suzy.”
Suzy reached into the bowl and pulled out a question. How old were you when you had sex?
Suzy grinned. “I lost my virginity to my childhood sweetheart, Ken, at the ripe old age of eighteen. We waited until we were out of high school, barely out.” She threw her hands in the air. “Then, we stupidly married other people, but now we’re together again.” She teared up. “You guys made it happen.”
“Made what happen?” Cheri asked.
“The wedding. Hope, Alex, and our classmates pulled a beautiful ceremony together the night of our class reunion after Ken proposed on the dance floor.” Suzy grinned. “Jon and Fernando bought a wedding cake at the local grocery store and Hope’s biological dad, Paul, married us.”
“How funny since you’re a wedding planner but how romantic that it was spontaneous.” Cheri sighed. “I wish I would have that kind of luck.”
“Stop looking for dates on the Internet,” Alex, Hope, and Suzy said in unison.
Cheri sighed. “I know. I know. Who’s next?”
“You are,” Alex said.
Cheri reached in, unfolded the tiny square, and peered at the ceiling. “Not this.”
“Read it,” Hope said.
Cheri stalled.
Alex snatched the paper from Cheri and broke into a wide smile. You got the winning question. She paused dramatically before reading it.
“Have you ever found your G-spot?”
Everyone literally rolled on the floor with laughter.
“I’m making a new rule that everyone has to answer this one. We all want to know about the mysterious G-spot.”
Cheri cupped her hand over her mouth. “Then you go first, Alex. You and your crazy get-to-know-me questions.”
Alex held up her hands. “Okay, okay. I’ll answer. No, I haven’t and neither has the cop. I think he—or I’d—need Google or Siri to find the damn thing.”
“My ex, Bill, would never ask for directions, so he obviously never found it.” Suzy giggled. “Maybe I should pose this as a challenge to Ken.”
Hope shrugged. “What’s a G-spot?”
Alex choked on her coffee. “You’ve surely heard of it.”
“I’ve heard of it but I sure don’t know where the stupid thing is.”
Everyone turned toward Cheri.
“So, Miss Socialite, have you—or someone—discovered your G-spot?” Alex asked.
The curved smile and rosy cheeks on Cheri’s face said it all. All three women threw pillows at her.
Hope joked. “Now I have another reason to hate you.”
Drawing one more question each, the girls played the game until ten.
Afterward, Hope stepped into the kitchen. “I’ve got to work tomorrow. Let’s hurry and do the dishes.”
Cheri pushed them out of the kitchen. “No way. You’re my guests, plus you each have a thirty-minute drive. I can clean up in the morning.” She didn’t have to twist their arms. Alex, Hope, and Suzy retrieved their purses and headed for the front door.
Alex smiled at Cheri. “This was great. Thanks for your warm hospitality. Your home is beautiful and the food was amazing.”
Suzy expressed her appreciation and Hope bobbed her head in agreement as she yawned and rubbed her belly. “Yes, thank you for everything. It was even more perfect than I expected.”
Cheri’s eyes brimmed with tears as she watched the women leave. Girlfriends. This is what I’ve been missing in my life.