The B Girls - By Cari Cole Page 0,7

Standish makes his money producing porn isn't just the same thing, it's proof positive that these people you so admire don't have one tenth as much class as you."

Lucy's eyes went wide. She hadn't known any of that. "Are you serious? About Betsy and Truman I mean."

"Oh yeah. You'd be amazed if you knew the kind of secrets that are being kept in the houses of Pine Bluff Country Club Estates."

"Wow," Lucy said. "You aren't kidding."

"The point," Jane said turning back to Mae, "is that you shouldn't be ashamed of your background. You should be proud of the fact that you overcame it and made a good life for yourself and your family."

Lucy was starting to think Mae hadn't been listening when she suddenly started to laugh.

"Truman Standish makes dirty movies? Bald, short, coke-bottle glasses Truman?" Mae said.

Jane nodded. "Oh yeah. Wanna hear about John and Trish Markham?"

"I do," Lucy said. She felt a tiny twinge of guilt at listening to such evil gossip but, well . . .

"They're swingers."

"No way! Not Trish. She leads a bible study group at the Baptist church," Mae said.

"The very one," Jane said.

"And just how do you know all of this?" Lucy wanted to know.

"The years I spent married to Lloyd were very educational," Jane said.

"Oh my God you didn't . . . I mean you weren't . . ." Mae couldn't find the words.

"Swinging with Trish and John?" Jane shook her head. "No but not because they didn't try to convince me--all three of them. It was the last straw that sent me to divorce court."

Mae didn't know what to say.

"So you see we all have our secrets," Jane said. "As for the designer diapers and the queen bee thing. You're right but I doubt I saw more of my parents than you did yours--sleazy personal injury lawyers make a lot of money but they work a lot of hours. And I like to think I've grown a conscience since I tortured the less popular in high school."

"I'm sorry," Mae said. "I apologize to both of you I was out of line."

"No worries," Jane said.

"I'm just glad you got it out," Lucy said.

"Let's get out of here," Jane said. "We really need to kick up our heels."

###

"I guess everyone has their sacred cows," Lucy said when Jane turned up her nose at the Shitkicker's appetizers. What the hell had she expected? Sushi?

Jane looked a little green around the gills. "Sacred cows?"

"Okay, maybe that wasn't the best choice of words." Lucy eyed the huge assortment of deep fried and sauced food--including a basket of fatty ribs swimming in a brown sugar based barbecue sauce. "But this isn't a salad bar kind of place."

"Can I help it if I have a fear of getting fat?"

"Yes, you can. I've been meaning to tell you you're starting to look a little pinched around the edges. That can happen when the main staple in your diet is iceberg lettuce with lemon juice dressing," Mae said.

"Besides, what's the difference between this and that ice cream you put away this afternoon?" Lucy asked.

"That was a treat not a meal," Jane said. "I shudder to think how much grease I could blot off this food with a paper napkin."

Lucy held up a fork. "Blot any grease off of this perfectly horrifying food and I'll stab you."

"Take your own advice and lighten up," Mae said. She took a handful of French fries dripping with melted cheese, bacon, and chili, to emphasize her point.

Jane winced and reached for a Buffalo wing. "I'll have to do doubles at the gym this week."

The girls were sitting at a table in the raised dining area of The Shitkicker, decked out in their western finery waiting for the evening's entertainment to start. Lucy had ordered one of every fattening, greasy appetizer on the menu along with a pitcher of Spicearita's--signature drink of the bar.

The Shitkicker was known for having the best live bands, the best drinks, and the best time in all of Metro Atlanta. And the girls had ringside seats.

"I thought bars like this died after the Urban Cowboy craze ended," Jane said.

"I'm having a Thelma and Louise flashback myself," Mae said. "Are you sure we should be doing this?"

"Of course we should be doing this," Lucy said. "We're going to line dance when things get cranked. No soccer moms here tonight."

"That's for sure, I feel like a character in a B movie western," Mae said.

"Hey those B movie queens were pretty bad ass," Jane said.

"Brazen,"