Everyone stood there, biting back overwhelming urges to comfort and spout useless platitudes.
“I’m sorry your show was canceled,” Brittany said, taking a step back. “Can I still tell people that a celebrity chef is catering my wedding?”
“I’ve got another few weeks before I’m officially a has-been, so I vote yes,” Carmen said.
“Are you going to be looking for a new venture?” Claire asked, eyes sparkling. “Maybe a shiny new project?”
“Absolutely,” Carmen said.
Claire winked. “We’ll talk later, then.”
“I’m intrigued,” Carmen said. “But I guess right now we talk about books? I’ve never been in a book club before, and I hope I don’t get kicked out for not having read the book.”
Everyone settled around Alice’s living room with their snacks and beverages, and Maggie patted Carmen on the shoulder. “No worries. I didn’t read it, either.”
“I only read the dirty parts,” Claire said.
Trista shrugged. “I read half of it.”
Miss Mills pulled out her copy of Breaking the Cowboy. “I read the entire book, except for the racy parts.”
“Seeing as how I only read the racy parts, together we have read the entire thing,” Claire said.
Brittany looked at the cover of Miss Mills’s book. “Wait a minute. That’s not the book I read.”
“It’s Breaking the Cowboy,” Miss Mills said. “Didn’t you get your copy?”
“No. I read The Bridal Wave, which is the first book in the quintuplet wedding series.”
“That’s next month’s book,” Alice said.
Brittany sighed, leaned back, and plopped her booted foot up on Alice’s coffee table with a loud clunk. She held a hand out to Anna. “Cheese puff me.”
Claire also snagged a cheese puff. “My contribution to the discussion will be somewhat limited. But the sex scene with the ropes was super-hot. I might have read it out loud to Ford, and he might have liked it.”
“Ooh,” Maggie chimed in. “I got that far. And it was Travis’s favorite scene, too.”
“Goodness!” Miss Mills said. “You let your husbands read romance novels?”
“Travis loves them. They spice up our love life.”
“I have never heard of such a thing,” Miss Mills said, fanning herself with her daily devotional.
“I like this discussion,” Alice said. “I don’t think we’ve ever talked about how reading books together can bring couples closer. And I especially love that Travis and Ford don’t care about gender stereotypes in regard to their reading choices. I personally feel that romance sometimes gets a bad rap simply because it’s written primarily by and for women. And we’re in a patriarchal cul—”
Woof!
“When did you get a dog?” Maggie asked.
Woof!
Alice sighed. “It’s Gaston, my mom’s dog.”
“How does he get along with Sultana?” Maggie asked, as the cat glided exotically into the room.
Anna narrowed her eyes and made the sign of the cross.
“They’ve actually been getting along pretty well,” Alice said. “I think they like each other. Anyway, as I was saying—”
Brittany raised her hand.
“Yes, Brittany?”
“Since I’ll be on my honeymoon during the next book club meeting, can I share my thoughts on Bridal Wave if I don’t give spoilers? And can I do it right now and then mentally check out?”
Alice sighed, because Brittany was definitely going to give spoilers. But she kept her expression pleasant. “Sure.”
“First of all, it is a virgin trope.”
“Oh, how nice!” Miss Mills said. “We don’t read enough of those.”
“Why is that nice?” Alice asked. “Honestly, I find the trope a bit problematic.”
“Really?” Claire asked. “I think virgin stories are fun. Especially the historical ones.”
“Well, they’d have to be historical, wouldn’t they?” Anna asked. “Are there any modern-day virgins walking around?”
Maggie cleared her throat and dramatically nodded her head in Miss Mills’s direction. “There might be a few—”
“I said there were no modern-day virgins walking around,” Anna said, thereby indicating Miss Mills was historical.
Carmen looked at the back cover of Brittany’s book. “This sounds really cute. I’m definitely going to read it.”
Alice crossed her legs. “Again, I find the trope somewhat problematic.”
“Why?” Anna asked.
“Because virginity is a social construct. It doesn’t actually exist.”
Maggie jerked her head in Miss Mills’s direction again. “Oh, it exists all right.”
Miss Mills, not noticing that she was the subject of interest, daintily bit into a lemon bar.
“I remember the night I lost mine,” Trista said. “It was after graduation in the back of Bubba’s pickup truck. We were all at the dam, remember?”
No, they hadn’t all been at the dam. Alice hadn’t been there.
“Oh my God,” Claire said. “That’s where it happened for me, too! Only it was after the homecoming dance with Bobby Flores. At least you technically made it out of high school still a virgin.”
“Again,” Alice said, “virginity is not a physical state. You don’t make it out of high school with it intact or not intact.”
Everyone looked at her like she was nuts. She clearly wasn’t getting through to them.
“What about you, Anna? Who took your virginity?” Brittany asked.
Alice sighed. “Nobody takes—”
“My husband,” Maggie said. “I’m pretty sure the first guy Anna banged was Travis.”
“Goodness!” Miss Mills said.
Anna daintily crossed her legs and pretended to brush lint off her slacks while the room erupted in gasps.
“It was a very long time ago,” Anna said. “In high school. And for Maggie’s sake, I hope he’s gotten better at it.”
Everyone erupted in laughter, even though Alice didn’t think there was anything humorous about it. “As I was saying, virginity is a social construct. It isn’t something that can be given or taken, any more than you can give or take someone’s experience of anything.”
“You can give someone an experience,” Maggie said.
Claire nodded. “Maggie gave me a gift certificate for a massage.”
Frustration crept up Alice’s spine. By the time it arrived at her throat, there was no holding back. “But the state of virginity isn’t a thing. It’s just someone walking around who hasn’t had sexual intercourse. There are people who’ve never jumped out of an airplane.
