On Tuesdays, They Played Mah Jongg Read Online Free PDF

Weiner. How does one describe Doreen? Let’s just say that not only does everyone need one fat friend, but also one tramp for a friend, too. Funny thing is the tramps are never the most attractive ones. Don’t get me wrong. Doreen was not ugly. As a matter of fact, none of my mother’s friends were ugly. With all that makeup, how could anyone be ugly? Doreen, however, was sort of funny looking. She had a curvy figure, but it was not fat. She was shorter than average, and her face had aged more quickly, but she did not look old, just sort of droopy.
    Her hair was the most interesting thing about her. Doreen was the wealthiest of my mother’s friends, yet she never changed her hairstyle. Apparently, when Vidal Sassoon was an unknown, he styled her hair while she was vacationing in southern California. The style was a reverse flip that framed her face, and she liked it so much, she never changed it. She even kept the same frosty blonde color, too. I have noticed that about the very wealthy. They never change their hair. Doreen’s hair reminded me of the actress, Dina Merrill, who also never changed her hair.
    Doreen’s marriage to Sammy was a financial arrangement, and in keeping with the Newport News tradition of giving one’s business a creative and catchy moniker, he named his company Weiner’s Real Estate.
    Doreen’s mother and my maternal grandmother were childhood friends, and when my mother moved to Newport News, Doreen was one of the first people to give her a call to see if she wanted to go out. Before my mother met Florence, she was usually socializing with Rona and Doreen. However, soon after she met Florence, it was apparent they were going to be best friends.
    I looked over at the five women and noticed that Doreen had started to fan herself with a Kaddish card. I could not believe she was warm as it was around 30 degrees outside. Then, Florence pulled a small, battery-powered fan out of her purse, turned it on and aimed it at her forehead. Rona soon pulled up her veil and reached for Florence’s fan, but Florence was too quick for her, so Rona gave her a dirty look and proceeded to fan herself with the glove she had just removed from her hand. At that moment, Hannah started to unbutton her coat and wave the collar while sweat poured down the side of her face. I had read about how women who spend a lot of time together cycle together, but I never witnessed a group hot flash until that cold day in January. These women were closer than they realized.
    Arlene looked at the four other women and smiled because her personal summers were becoming less frequent.
    After the funeral, everyone came over to our house for lunch. I loved those get-togethers, walking around making small talk and answering the same question over and over again — “What are you going to be when you graduate from college?” Liberal arts majors have it tough, so I came up with a stock answer. With a straight face, I would say, “I am going to have a sex change operation.” At first, their mouths would drop, and then they would giggle nervously as they hurriedly walked away. I never once cracked a smile.
    I think I was the first person to come out of the closet in our town, and back then, everyone thought all gay men wanted to be women. Florence thought I was hysterical.
    Eventually, everyone except Rona and Florence went home, and we started cleaning up.
    ~~~~~
    Michael stopped for a moment, and Dr. Mikowsky took off his glasses and looked up. He waited a few seconds confident that his patient would continue, but when the moment stretched over a few minutes, he was compelled to speak.
    “Michael, what happened while you were cleaning up,” he asked.
    “Oh, nothing really. I was just wondering if you are ready for this?”
    He gave Michael a puzzled look.
    “Am I ready? What do you mean?” Dr. Mikowsky asked Michael.
    “Well, sometimes the anticipation is enough, but when the fantasy comes true, it could be too much to bear,”