the article when the telephone rang. She reached for the receiver wondering if it was Janice telling her she was going to be home late.
'Hello,' came a throaty voice on the other end. It was remotely familiar to her and she wracked her brain trying to think who it was. Even when the voice said. 'My dear, this is Arlene.'
Even that didn't ring a bell. Arlene who?
'Arlene Lowell.'
'Arlene Lowell.'
It took a few seconds for the words to sink in, for them to make sense. And then Julie breathed into the telephone. 'Mrs. Lowell, sorry I didn't recognize your voice at first.'
'Call me Arlene for God's sake. I was wondering if you might be free this evening. We really haven't had much time to get to know each other and I thought we might have dinner tonight.'
Arlene Lowell? Julie scratched her head. Why on earth has she chosen to call this night? Although the minister and his wife had only been in town for a month they had already heard the rumors about Arlene. She was always off somewhere with some man that certainly was not her husband, Dean Lowell. In fact, Julie had only met Arlene once for a few minutes when she had gone over to Craven to pick up Brad. They hardly seemed to be kindred spirits and she couldn't imagine why this flashy woman was calling her. She had the distinct impression that she was not in the same league as Arlene Lowell. On their meeting the wife of the dean had been cool and Julie had detected a bit of condescension in her voice when she was introduced as the chaplain's wife. But now she was being asked to have dinner with her. Odd, she thought. Extremely odd!
Well, Julie, thought defiantly, I'm miserable sitting around here feeling sorry for myself. Maybe a night with Arlene is just what I need to perk up my spirits. At least it will be something different for a change to get me out of my rut.
'Why, yes, Arlene. That would be very nice.'
'Terrific, my dear. Can you pick me up? My car is in the garage.'
'Sure, Arlene. Where do you want to have dinner?'
'Well, we'll have drinks here first and then I know a rather exclusive club where we could go. We won't have to make a reservation either. I hate waiting for restaurant service, don't you?'
'Uh… yes…' Julie agreed without knowing why. Then she said a little more positively. 'I'd like to do something different. I'm sick of cooking and eating the same things.'
'They have lots of different things to eat at this club,' Arlene promised. 'Why don't you pick me up in about an hour. You don't have to get all dressed up. It's quite casual, Julie.'
'Fine, see you in about an hour. Bye.'
Once she had cradled the receiver, Julie raced to the bathroom, stripped off her clothes and stepped beneath the warm spray of the shower. She soaped her smooth, white shoulders, the firm, full mounds of her wide-set breasts. Then she devoted her attention to the little triangle of hair at the base of her belly, the fleshy lips of her vagina below it, the narrow crevice between her buttocks. She began to hum as she rinsed the froth of suds from her body, and she stepped from the shower to towel herself dry.
She glanced at herself in the mirror… at her tiny waist, her lush ripe breasts, her flaring hips and full thighs. At least she hadn't lost her figure, she thought. It was as perfect as her thirteen year old daughter's, only a little riper.
Feeling better than she had in weeks, like she was embarking on some kind of adventure, she began to sing quite loudly, pulling on her panties, her panty hose, leaning over to encase the two mounds of her breasts in her flimsy bra. She adjusted the straps and hooked it behind her, and then slipped her dress over her head. She zipped it up the back, admiring herself in the mirror. Blue was always my color, she thought, smoothing down the silky feeling skirt. Then she found her handbag and a pair of matching sandals and grabbed her car keys. This is the first time I have been out by myself in ages, she realized. I don't even have any friends. Suddenly, she felt very excited about the evening ahead. A friend at last! A woman to do things with… have dinner and talk things over with! Maybe her life would change its course tonight!
A few minutes later, she was knocking at the door of the Lowell's imposing house on the other side of the Craven campus. Arlene answered the door and invited her in.
The blonde minister's wife stepped inside, and was led into a huge living room with French doors leading to a patio surrounded by a Japanese garden. In the living room were cut flowers in silver bowls and there was a general white theme running through the room. The sofa was white, the walls were white and the only splashes of color were the flowers and the green plants that were everywhere.
'Sit down, my dear,' Arlene said indicating a place on the expensive looking sofa. 'Take a load off your feet and let's get to know each other. We've never really had the opportunity to talk so I want to hear all about you. Are you happy here in town?'
'Yes,' Julie answered not too enthusiastically. She settled herself on the edge of the sofa, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She accepted the drink the dean's wife handed her and sipped slowly at it. I mustn't drink too much, she thought. I've never been able to hold it very well.
She watched as Arlene Lowell chattered brightly and kept pouring herself drinks from the cocktail shaker. My God, this woman must have a hollow leg, Julie thought. I hope I'm not supposed to be keeping up with her. She wanted to though. She didn't want this sophisticated woman to think she was a prudey little minister's wife, unsophisticated and not socially aware. 'Are you getting hungry, Arlene?' she asked, hopefully thinking this would give her a chance to slow down the drinking.
Arlene shook her head. 'Not really,' she said. She refilled her glass again and lifted it. 'Here's to you, my dear,' she toasted the minister's wife.
'At the risk of being a bore,' Julie said, trying to be amusing. 'I'm positively ravenous. I skipped lunch today and I could now quite comfortably eat a horse. Can we start making our way over to that exclusive club you talked about?'
'Okay let's just have another drink, shall we Julie?' Arlene said persuasively.
Julie was beginning to feel a little tipsy and she was driving. Well, maybe just one more. Amazingly enough, Arlene looked fresh as a daisy. The martinis didn't seem to be affecting her at all.
Finally, they finished their drinks and Julie struggled to regain her composure. She felt bombed out of her skull but on no account did she want to appear that way to Arlene Lowell who was the picture of polished sophistication. The minister's wife swayed slightly, walking to the car, and almost stumbled when she got there, but managed to climb into the driver's seat without mishap. She started the motor and backed out of the driveway. 'Where to, Arlene?'
'Left at the corner and then right at the lights.'
Neither of the women said anything on the way. It seemed ages before Arlene said. 'Pull over by the trees… by those gates over on the left…'
Julie pulled up before the old estate which was all lit up. She vaguely thought she recognized it as the old School Board offices. Wasn't that where Bradley told her these supposed orgies were taking place? Didn't he say that some of the members of the school district were bringing young students from Craven here for lewd purposes? That didn't make sense at all to the minister's wife. If that were the case why would Arlene refer to this place as a private club and suggest that they have dinner here? Oh, none of it made any sense but maybe it was the unaccustomed alcohol that was making everything so confusing. She was just going to leave everything to Arlene, her new friend. She knew her way around and Julie was just as glad to have her to chart the course of their evening.
She slid from the car and followed Arlene to the large old building. It was a fine old Victorian house that had been completely restored. At one point the actual offices of the school district had been located here complete with the dusty old chalk boards and wooden desks but now the rooms had been restored to their formal splendor. All the rooms had high ceilings and most of them had fireplaces. The dining room and kitchen had been remodeled into a small restaurant and down the hall was a small sitting room. Arlene rang a bell and a man she called Jud appeared with an ice bucket with two bottles of champagne.
Jud popped the cork and poured the two women more drinks. Julie was really hungry now and she wondered how long it was going to be before she would be able to order dinner. Arlene seemed to have completely forgotten about food.
Julie's head was beginning to whiz around, she was beginning to feel more than just a little drunk. She
