Free Choices by S. R. Cambridge Page A

office and places your picture next to them. He’s so proud of you - says you should be a chef, not only his personal cook. That’s so kind of you to bake his expectant patients some yummy treats. Thank you.’ “Oh, you’re more than welcome, my pleasure. I respond.” She smiled and finished sharing her latest encounter with a patient.
    Honestly, it was Bonnie’s pleasure. Nothing satisfied her more, except being a mom and George’s wife. Joni, who was a little rough around the edges to start, and once you got a few drinks in her she was really sharp, usually asked the questions that no one had the courage to ask.
    “Okay, Bonnie” She slurred. “Enough with the suzy homemaker shit! Give us the dirt. You know, the good stuff. C’mon, somebody carrying a baby that isn’t their husbands? Who’s got VD? C’mon stuff like that.” Kristy and I inwardly cringed but also hoped Bonnie would have some good dish.
    “Oh, George doesn’t share information like that with me.”
    “Are you shitting me?” Always full of grace our Joni.
    “No, he doesn’t but that doesn’t mean I still don’t know what’s going on.”
    “Ohhh, I knew it, I knew it.” Joni was almost salivating, come to think of it so were Kristy and I. We should be ashamed of ourselves but, hey this is what GNI is all about. What happens during GNI stays in GNI.
    “Well, the receptionists are a wealth of information.” She smirked over her martini glass.
    “Out with it.” We yelled simultaneously.
    “Okay, promise to keep it between us.”
“Yes.”  The three of us chimed.
    “The high school principal’s wife, Mrs. Longfellow, well, she has Chlamydia. YIKES.”
    “NO WAY!”
    “YES WAY! Now, you promised, right!” We shook our heads in unison again. “Well, it seems she has a penchant for younger men, or should I say boys.”
    “Gross.”
    “Holy Crap.”
    “More power to her. I hope she had a hell of a ride.” Joni raised her glass in a toast to Mrs. Longfellow.
    “JONI!” We shrieked and howled with laughter at that one. I wasn’t sure if Bonnie was feeling comfortable but when she joined in with the pillow fight against Joni, I figured she was good to go.
    “So, Bonnie what made you and George decide to move up North?”  I asked innocently.
    Bonnie looked incredibly uncomfortable and shifted in her seat. She raised her glass to her lips and looked away from my gaze.
    “Um, wow, Bonnie, I didn’t…you don’t need to answer that if it makes you uncomfortable.” I quickly sat next to her and patted her hand.
    “I’m sorry, that question always catches me off guard. It’s  a simple question really - not something I should jump out of my chair and run screaming from the room, right?”
    Well, she all had our attention now.
    “I’ve never told anyone and George would be upset with me if he knew I told anyone this, you know, airing out our dirty laundry so to speak, but I can trust you girls, right?” Again we all nodded silently. I spoke up first.
    “Honestly, Bonnie, I didn’t mean to pry. Please don’t spill anything you don’t want to.”
    “No, it feels good to talk about it. You girls are great. I haven’t had a set of friends like you three since…well…ever, really.”
    Things were starting to get a little tense so I decided to fill up the martini glasses …again!
    “You see, I was studying to be a chef, taking cooking classes. Things were going well with the class. I was getting annoyed with George’s hours, though. Really I just had to get used to his long hours and absences. I had to make a conscious effort to make our relationship work.” She took a sip from her drink.
    “It must be really hard being doctor’s wife, with those crazy hours.” Joni nibbled on some veggie dip and passed around the munchies.
    “It was, in the beginning, I was really upset and distracted one day in cooking class. My instructor was a dick, gosh, I can’t believe I said that but anyway, he was yelling all the