The Hot Flash Club by Nancy Thayer Read Free Book Online Page A

Betsy Little, who wanted so desperately to get pregnant, only to find herself each month overwhelmed by debilitating cramps, told Shirley she believed she had magic in her hands. Betsy felt she was receiving such good energy from Shirley that someday her body would surprise them all with a strong, healthy pregnancy.
    “You’re absolutely right,” Shirley affirmed, not because she wanted Betsy to continue coming for her weekly massages, but because she knew that when the body was involved, half the battle was won by one’s heart and mind.
    When her last client left, Shirley brewed a pot of cranberry tea and curled up in a basket chair to find the movie listings in the newspaper. Jimmy had been in a good mood this morning, as well he should have been, because Shirley, floating on clouds of pleasure from her dream, had surprised him with a blow job he said he’d remember all his life. So perhaps she might be able to persuade him to see a movie with her. Usually he hated movies. Jimmy was a restless man, a man’s man, and the only movies he wanted to see were too violent for Shirley. But she felt hopeful this afternoon. There was a movie starring Jack Nicholson that looked good, and Jimmy loved Jack Nicholson. Maybe they’d go out for dinner, too, at the Thai place she loved. Maybe—
    The front door slammed, startling Shirley. Jimmy came barreling into the room. He was a big, burly man with a beard that always needed trimming and eyebrows as bushy as his beard. He wore jeans and a studded black leather jacket. His striped T-shirt strained over his beer belly, and his eyes were wild.
    “I’m out of here!” he yelled. “I’m blowing this fucking town.”
    “Jimmy!” Shirley jumped to her feet. “What happened?”
    “That fucking wop, that’s what happened!” Jimmy said. Turning, he stomped down the hall to their bedroom.
    Warily, Shirley followed at a distance. Sometimes, when Jimmy got really steamed, he took his anger out on her. From the hall she watched him yank his duffel bag down from the closet shelf. Jimmy worked at a local discount furniture store, loading and delivering furniture, and his boss, Manny Scillio, was forever riding Jimmy about taking too long to make his deliveries. Manny accused him of stopping by a bar on the way. The fact that Manny’s suspicions were true wasn’t of interest to Jimmy.
    “Jimmy—”
    “He fired me! That stupid cocksucking asshole fired
me
!”
    “Oh, hon, I’m so sorry. But you know, maybe it’s a good thing. You’ve hated working for Manny. Now you can find another job, a better job, one you enjoy—”
    Jimmy yanked his drawer out of the bureau so hard it fell on the floor, splitting. He shoveled his underwear, socks, and T-shirts into his duffel bag. Jerked the Ralph Lauren Polo button-down shirts she’d bought him for birthdays and Christmas off the hangers and stuffed them into the bag, too.
    “No way am I staying in this town. I’m sick of the cold weather, I’m sick of the gray sky and mud. I’m sick of living around wops and gooks. I’m heading south.”
    “You’re leaving?”
    “Yeah, I’m leaving, and don’t you give me any grief about it, Shirl. You know I’ve been unhappy here. You know I like Florida. I got friends there.”
    “Great, friends who sell drugs. Jimmy, you’ll get sucked right back in—”
    “Don’t start with me! Don’t even start!” Jimmy brushed past her, into the bathroom to scoop up his toothbrush and Shirley’s toothpaste.
    “But Jimmy, I thought—”
    He stormed down the hall to the front door. “It don’t matter what you thought, Shirl. Don’t matter what I thought. Things change. I’m gone.”
    He left, not bothering to close the door behind him. Shirley stood there, watching him mount his Harley-Davidson. He did look bad on that cycle. He roared off down the street, taking the corner fast, leaning sideways the way he liked, looking dangerous and sexy as the devil.
    He vanished from sight. The