The Hot Flash Club Chills Out by Nancy Thayer Read Free Book Online Page B

remind him. I worry about Angus.”
    “So,” Alice summed up, “you’re taking care of your mother, your fiancé, and his son.”
    “What else is new?” Polly jested.
    “What else is new is that we’re older,” Alice pointed out. “We’ve got to meet thirty-year-old demands with our sixty-year-old bodies. We
should
be taking it easy.”
    “This reminds me of a joke,” Faye said. “Why was Jesus a woman?”
    They all grinned. “Why?”
    “Because when there was hardly any food, he managed to feed a crowd, and even when he was dead, he had to get up because there was more work to do.”
    “I hear you.” Alice shook her head. “Is it worse because we’re doing it out of love? I mean, I
adore
my granddaughter. I don’t think I’ve ever loved
anyone
quite so much. I treasure every moment I get to spend with her. And I’m so glad to be able to help my son and Jennifer.”
    “But you’re tired,” Shirley said.
    Alice pinned her with a glare. “You’re saying I
look
tired?”
    Shirley often backed down when Alice challenged her. But tonight she had a reason to be forceful. She had news. “Yes, Alice, I am saying you look tired. Exhausted, frankly. I’m worried about you.”
    Alice gave in. “You’re right. I
am
tired. No matter how much aspirin I take, my arthritis makes me ache all the time and gives me muscle spasms that make my whole body fold up like a deck chair. I don’t have time to exercise and”—she held out her hand in a
stop
gesture at Shirley—“I’m eating too much and gaining weight again. But I need the fuel for energy, and I just don’t have the stamina to stress my body out with a diet.”
    Faye leaned forward. “Have you mentioned this to Alan?”
    “Alan! Of course not. I don’t want him to feel guilty. He’s got enough on his mind. I’m out there to help them, not worry them.”
    “Have you considered cutting down your hours?” Polly asked. “Like, just going out three days a week instead of five? That way you’d have two to rest and recoup.”
    Alice made a face. “I can’t do that. They need my help.”
    “You won’t be much help to them if you have another heart attack,” Shirley observed quietly.
    “I’m not going to have another heart attack!” Alice insisted. “This is
good
stress, after all.”
    “What does Gideon say?” Faye asked.
    The waiter arrived with their drinks, and Alice got busy squeezing the lime into her vodka tonic.
    “Right,” Shirley said. “So he agrees with us.”
    “I suppose,” Alice admitted grumpily. Looking around the table at her friends, she asked, “But really, what can I do?”
    Wanting to perk up the group, Faye leaned forward with a sly grin on her face. “No one’s asked me why
I
look tired.”
    Marilyn obliged. “Tell me, Faye, why do you look tired?”
    “Because Aubrey and I finally got around to making love.”
    “High five, girl!” Alice held up her hand.
    “Not so fast, Alice. I haven’t told you the whole story.”
    “He couldn’t get it up.” Marilyn had dated a man with this particular problem.
    Faye shook her head, looking mischievous. “Actually, he could. Without, I might add, any chemical assistance.” Everyone knew about the disaster that had taken place when Marilyn’s lover had tried Viagra. “No, Aubrey did really well. I mean, he was like Mt. Everest, and I was climbing right up into the rarefied heights.” She lowered her voice. “To drop the metaphor, I was on top, and his hands were on my, um, chest, supporting me a little, and things were happening that haven’t happened for me in years, and just at the crucial moment…” She hesitated.
    “Don’t stop now!” Polly cried.
    Faye laughed. “Those were my thoughts precisely. But he
did
stop—he has bursitis in his shoulder, and I guess my weight was too much for him. He grabbed his arm like I’d shot an arrow into it, clenching his teeth with pain. I felt terrible! He took three aspirins, lay on a heating pad, and had to