"A tribute to the '80's in honour of tonight's book," she says, while setting her purse down on top of Mr. Tumnus.
"That's my cat, Frannie. Not the ottoman," I say.
"Right. Sorry." She retireves her purse."I'm ready for our discussion tonight. Although, I must say, you are very tricky, Ella."
"Me?" I ask as I pour Rachel's wine. "Why is that?""
Frannie shrugs and sits down on the chair in front of the telly. "Because you picked a book that isn't a movie yet. You tricked me."
Rachel and I laugh and exchange a look.
Frannie smiles, and gestures for some tea. "But I won't be stopped, Ella. Youtube proved useful once again and I listened and watched the videos for all the songs mentioned in the book. And I have to say that INXS is better the second time around."
Rachel nearly spits her wine out as she tries to stop from laughing. "Frannie! You are..."
"Incorrigible, I know. That's what my yoga instructor says. And my chiropractor."
As I wave my hand in the air to bring order, Mr. Tumnus jumps on my lap to keep me company. "All right, darlings, let's talk shop. The book. What did you think of it?"
"Steamy stuff," Rachel giggles, "which is why I have to agree with the comments made on Amazon. There isn't any real story going on that is beyond the scope of a grown woman trapped in her sex-crazed, self absorbed body. This is a good book to show why teenagers should practice abstinence. The craziness that was birthed from this out-of-control relationship is a visceral undoing of a person's sanity. "
Frannie sniffs. "I quite liked that part."
"You would," I point out. "Rachel, I have to disagree with the idea that the whole book is complete shizzle. It's not as one-dimensional as it seems. It's chick-lit, so keep that in mind, it's not deep dish here. What I really liked was the use of past and present. I thought it was quite marvellous the way the past showed us why Erin was making the choices she made in the present. It made for a unique way to let the story unfold. The back and forth brought was a great way to create layers. Although, yes, way too much sex."
"And what about the plot twist half way through the book when she meets Nate again?" Rachel asks. "Was it a shocker?"
"Abominable! I didn't see it coming. When it became obvious what was really going on, I instantly disliked Nate." Frannie says.
"You didn't see it coming?" I ask. "Come on, Frannie. The story is about them...of course, she'd meet him again. It was leading up to that, we all knew that."
"Well, I didn't," Frannie sniffs again.
Mr. Tumnus hops down from my lap and snuggles up against Frannie's leg. I always say that there is nothing like a cat for damage control.
"If Erin were someone I knew personally, I would have given her knickers a good twist and set her straight on a few things." Rachel smiles and rises to get a second glass of wine. " I do so prefer the stories that have a greater lesson or personal discovery. Let's do another classic next week."
I look at Frannie.
She winks at me. "Let's do Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South. I just adore Richard Armitage in that film."
I look at Rachel who nods her head in approval.
"Fine. Tell you what, let's read the book and we'll watch part four of the film here at my house next week."
"Deal!" Both women agree and even Mr. Tumnus purrs his approval.
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