Izzy watched the new arrival stagger into the room. Kate must have been freezing, as she was wearing a short, thin dress. Beautiful as it was, with its floral pattern, it looked very light. Her black jacket seemed unsuitable for the weather too.
The ladies stood to greet her.
“You guys are not going to believe the day I’ve had,” Kate said, straightening her back like a drill sergeant about to address her soldiers.
Tess blinked quickly. “What happened?”
Louise said, “Kate, this is Izzy, our new member.”
“Hi.” Kate leaned over and held out her hand. Izzy shook it, then backed away as Kate continued speaking. “You’re not catching me at my best, Izzy. Forgive me. But I’ve just found out that my husband is a woman.”
“What do you mean?” Dee said. “Who said that?”
“He did. I mean, she did, if I want to honour his pronouns. I mean, her pronouns. Fuck! Stephen has decided he’s actually Stephanie. And I’m giving him too much credit. He didn’t tell me at all. I went to meet him at his office and his colleagues were all celebrating his sex change or whatever. What do you think of that?”
There was a lot of noise all at once. Gasps. Expressions of surprise. Questions. Only Tess and Izzy remained silent. Tess seemed lost in thought.
“I need wine,” Kate said, piercing through all the other voices.
Louise said, “I have some very nice teas, fruit juices—”
“Wine,” Kate said. “What’s a book club without wine, anyway? You always pull this crap when you’re hosting, Louise. Please, give me wine. If you have an IV drip, plug it directly into my veins.”
Louise frowned. “I’m not sure if I have all that much wine.”
Izzy said, “I brought a couple of bottles.”
She’d placed her tote bag on the floor next to her seat. Now she lifted it up, removed the bottles and held them up so the others could see.
Kate came over and threw her arms around her. Izzy gripped the bottles tighter, trying not to drop them.
Kate said, “I love this girl already. Corkscrew and glasses, please, Louise.”
“Alright, fine.” Louise sighed. “Give me a minute.”
When Kate had released Izzy, and dropped into the chair next to her, Louise took the bottles.
“They were for your birthday,” Izzy said. She handed Louise the birthday card too.
“You’re so kind.”
“Can I help you with the wine?” Izzy said. “I’m a waitress.”
“Are you really?” Louise gave her a big smile. “Well, not tonight, you’re not. You’re a guest in this house. Sit down and relax.”
Izzy did sit down, but she was far from relaxed. She watched Louise leave with the wine.
Kate crossed her long legs and sat elegantly in her seat, her back perfectly straight, not sinking gracelessly into the cushions the way Izzy had done. She ran a hand through her glossy, dark brown hair and Izzy caught sight of a pretty turquoise bracelet on her wrist.
Tess stood for another moment before sinking wordlessly into her seat, still scowling.
“Wait,” Melanie said. “Tell me again, Kate. What happened? You went to Stephen’s office and found everyone celebrating the fact that he’s now a woman? And he didn’t tell you anything about this?”
“That’s about the sum of it. They even had a cake for him, and a banner strung across the ceiling. Did he tell you guys? Did you know?”
“Of course not,” Dee said. “I can’t believe it.”
Louise appeared with a tray. It had tall wine glasses, a corkscrew, and a cup of water.
“I’m so sorry, Kate,” Louise said as she pulled the cork out of the first bottle of wine. “I’m shocked.”
“I can’t believe he did this to me.”
“She,” Melanie said. There was an uncomfortable silence. “What are you looking at me like that for? We should start calling her Stephanie.”
Kate said, “But she’s not Stephanie. She is my husband, Stephen.”
“It’s terrible for you, but she’s a woman now and we’ll just have to accept it.”
“I don’t believe you’re taking his side,” Kate snapped.
“Her side. And I’m not.”
“Would you shut up with your stupid fucking pronouns? You know how fucking retarded you sound?”
“Don’t you dare say retarded. That’s an incredibly nasty word. You know my sister has learning diffi—”
“Everybody!” Louise said. “Let’s take it down a notch. Okay? We’re all friends here. Kate, here’s your wine. Now, who else wants a glass?”
Everyone did except Izzy. It had been months since she’d had a drink, and she didn’t miss it.
“I brought you some water,” Louise told her. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted wine or not, but I thought you might like some water anyway.”
“Thank you.” The mug was warm.
Dee said, “So what’s going to happen?”
Kate shook her head. “I have no idea. I don’t know if there’s someone else. I mean, is that what prompted this? That he met a man? Or does he still like women? I have no idea. I just feel so stupid. It doesn’t make any sense.”
When Louise finished doling out the booze, she took the seat on the couch next to Tess.
“Have you been married long?” Izzy asked gently.
“Four and a half years. Four and a half years of my life have gone down the drain. My life is over.”
Izzy had always thought that Elaine was happy in Dun Laoghaire because nothing much happened here, but maybe this seaside suburb wasn’t as sleepy as Izzy had imagined.
She wondered what else she might be wrong about.