Hot Flash Holidays Read Free Page A

them all fine.” Alice let out a big fat sigh. “I don’t know why I’m so
cranky
these days.”
    “Hormones don’t take holidays,” Polly said.
    “It’s not just that,” Alice admitted. “I’ve gotten cranky since I’ve retired.” Seeing Shirley’s mouth twitch, she said, “All right, I was probably cranky
before
I retired. That might be why I was such a dynamite executive at TransContinent.” Alice shook her head in frustration. Her boiling energy, creative vigor, and, all right, slightly anal-compulsive need to get things done right and
soon
had carried her into the top echelons of a major insurance company during the days when most women, especially black women, were thrilled to stop scrubbing corporate floors and become secretaries. Alice had been
someone.
She’d been a
force.
And she missed that.
    “You need to find something to do,” Shirley advised. “Something more than playing bridge.”
    “You think I don’t know that?” Alice snapped.
    “You need a grandchild,” Faye said in a dreamy voice.
    “I already have grandchildren,” Alice reminded her.
    “But they live in Texas,” Faye persisted, “and you seldom see them.”
    Alice gave Faye a level stare. “Faye, you know children are just not my thing. Oh, I loved my sons like a mother panther when they were young, and I took good care of them, even though I worked. I’ve got photo albums full of smiles. But babies in general aren’t my thing.”
    “What will you do if Alan and Jennifer get married and have children?” Polly asked.
    “Let’s not go there.” Alice still didn’t like Jennifer. And it was
not
because Jennifer was white. After all, her four best friends were white. It was more that when Alice first became aware of Jennifer D’Annucio’s existence, Jennifer had been having an affair with Faye’s son-in-law, Lars.
    Now, Alice, she told herself, don’t be so judgmental. The best love she’d had in her life had been with a married man when she was thirty-five. She didn’t consider herself less trustworthy because she’d had that affair, and she refused to let herself think less of Jennifer for her affair, either. Still, she was glad handsome Lars and his family had moved to California, even as she sympathized with Faye, who was
all about
grandchildren, that her family was so far away.
    “Oh,
damn
!” Marilyn flew up out of her chair.
    “What’s wrong?” Polly asked, alarmed.
    Marilyn’s words were muffled as she tugged her sweater up over her head. She clasped it to her chest for modesty, her flushed face and chest clear evidence of the problem.
    “I’m so
sick
of these hot flashes!” she cried.
    “Me, too,” Faye commiserated. “I don’t understand the
point
of it.”
    Marilyn hurried to a window and pressed her burning face against the cold glass. “Nature’s telling us we’re past childbearing age.”
    “Hel-
lo
! I
know
that!” Alice grumbled. “I can look in the mirror and
see
that.”
    “Nature designed our reproductive systems before human beings had mirrors.” Marilyn grabbed a magazine and fanned her face. “It’s possible that in the evolutionary process, hot flashes once served a purpose which has become irrelevant. Perhaps in fifty years, or five hundred, women won’t have hot flashes.”
    “I can’t wait that long,” Polly quipped.
    “I know,” Marilyn lamented. “It’s not just the surge of heat I hate. It’s the way it derails my mind. I’m making mistakes when I teach my classes, or I lose my place, or forget what I’m saying right in the middle of a sentence. It’s embarrassing.”
    “At least you don’t gain weight simply by breathing,” Faye consoled her. “Aubrey’s taking me out to wonderful restaurants so often, I’m ballooning up again.”
    “You look wonderful, Faye,” Alice assured her. “I’ve decided to stop fussing about my weight. I enjoy eating, and so does Gideon, and he likes me the way I am, nice and squashable.”
    “That’s fine, as