“Sara!” It was a Friday night, when Sara met her old school friends. Girl-friends, really. A group of eight girls met up in a bar somewhere near their home. They were all schoolmates, classmates even, all from the same school. They were all her peers.
“Hi girls!” Sara smiled. She wore the same old dress that she did and felt a little underdressed compared to her girlfriends who were all in very sexy clothing. “Am I late?”
“A little! Are you pregnant? Why are you wearing this kind of homely clothes?” One of the girls went on the attack.
“No!” Sara blushed. “Not yet. So, what did I miss?”
“Nothing! We just got here not long ago.”
Sara nodded. “You all look great. Are all these new clothes?”
One of the girls laughed. “Yup. My boyfriend bought it for me.”
Sara’s face stared. “Boyfriend? I thought you’re married to Henry!”
The girls laughed. “Sara! You didn’t know?”
“I missed the last meetup.” Sara said.
“Then you must get the news. She got herself a boyfriend to play with, because her husband Henry is too busy with work!”
Sara frowned, she felt a little guilty because she also kissed another man. “But- but your husband?”
“It’s okay. It’s just a little fun.” The cheating girl defended herself. “My husband, I still love him, but you know, no one’s perfect for each other. We all have parts that are unmet, because our husbands just cannot fulfill single of our needs. And it’s unfair for them to try and fulfill them anyway. So, I found myself a little toyboy at the side. He’s rich too, so I go out with him once in a while, then he buys me nice clothes and nice stuff.”
“-what.” Sara said. “That’s-“
The cheating girl then pointed to another girl. “She’s doing it too.”
“Me three!” One of the girls said.
Sara stared. 3 out of 8 of her friends were cheating on their spouses!
One of them said. “Actually, men our age are still early in their career. You know, it’s like the 5th year of work for them. So they don’t earn much, not with our economy! But we’re not getting younger, and we need money too, to pay for our makeup, buy nice things, you know, come out for dates.”
Then the bombshell from another of the girls. “I’m thinking of divorcing my husband. Just thinking.”
“Wait- why?” Every single girl asked. Sara leaned closer while she sipped the beer. It tasted kinda bad.
“Well- I- I found another man, and I think after I met him, I felt my physical compatibility with my husband is just crap. This new guy- he’s so much better in terms of physical compatibility.”
Sara was shocked. “-girl! How could-“
“Sara! Did you know that almost 30% or 40% of folks cheat on their partners! It’s really common.” One of the girls answered. Sara used to respect her, because she was really smart and pretty.
Sara frowned. Her rational mind immediately responded in anger. “That’s terrible. You girls are being horrible, horrible people.”
“Come on, Sara! We’re not young and naive anymore.” One of the girls said. “Think about it for a moment. We met our boyfriends and now husbands in school. How likely it is, that in a school of 100-200 boys, there is someone in there that’s our soulmate? Most of us will meet men who are a better match for us once we start looking outside of school. That’s just the fact, because it’s a bigger pool of men.”
Sara rejected it, even though her body felt drawn to Edmund. “-no.”
“I know. James is a great guy. But look at you.” One of the girls teased. “Wearing the exact same dress as you did last time we met. You’re not doing that well, financially, isn’t it?”
She frowned. “-No! We’re doing okay.”
But she knew that was a lie. She just took a loan from her boss.
One of the girls decided it was time to let her go. “Let Sara go. She’s still in the honeymoon phase with James. She’ll grow up and realize the real world’s not so nice. We’ll do what we have to do. Maybe next time she’ll find a rich boy too!” Sara sat, quietly, as her girlfriends talked about nice hotels, holidays, and restaurants. She felt jealous, when her girlfriends show photos of the nice places they went. Inadequate. Inferior.
Then one of the girls dropped a bombshell on her.
“I thought I wouldn’t cheat too. But then, I asked myself, am I happy? Am I really happy if this is what I have for the rest of my life?” The cheating girl with a toyboy said.
Sara answered defiantly. “Yes. I’m happy with my life.”
But her heart wavered. She went home that night with a lot on her mind.
***
Saturday, morning.
“How was the date with the girls?” James asked. When Sara got home, James was already asleep. It was rare for him to return so early.
“It- It was okay.” Sara said. “The girls are doing well.”
“That’s great.” James said. “You should meet them more often. I’m so busy with work, you must feel lonely sometimes.”
Sara said. “It’s alright. They- they’re a bad influence.”
Her husband laughed. “Really? The girls were so prim and proper when we were still in school!”
“I know.” Sara agreed. “It’s a little sad to see how they’ve changed.”
“Everyone changes, right?” James nodded. “If it’s for the better, all for it.”
Sara paused and looked at her husband. Despite his words, James didn’t change much. He worked like hell, but didn’t seem to go anywhere with his career. She didn’t even know why. “Really?”
“Yeah. I like to think I’ve changed. I’m more mature now, right?”
Sara looked, and frowned. “Not really. You’re- you’re still the same.”
“Hah! That means I didn’t age!” James took it positively. “And actually, you didn’t either. You still look as beautiful as ever.”
Sara sighed. Instead, she looked down at her apron that was a little weathered over the years, and asked herself that question last night. Was she happy like this?
She touched her chest, and found it sad that she couldn’t really answer yes. Still, she forced herself. She muttered. “I’m happy like this.”
Her husband didn’t hear her. Her husband promised her so much. They wanted to build a life together. And yet they were still here. Still renting. Still barely getting by.
***
