| Plot, Part 2: Disaster occurs. When Linda is mixing in with "The Club" (a group of around 40 wives of the community, all aged over 60) her disguise is seen-through by one of the wives (Mrs Smith). Mrs Smith had accidentally entered a one-person restroom (because Linda had failed to securely lock the door correctly -- a door with a worn lock that requires special knowledge to make it securely lock). Mrs Smith had accidentally caught Linda with much of her make up off (Linda was having trouble with an allergic reaction to some of the makeup, and was trying to quickly replace it with another kind of makeup). Linda panics and runs out of the building. The sight of the semi-nude young woman running out of the building (and into some nearby woods) startles and amazes The Club. Linda finds her way home through the woods. Linda encounters her husband. She hides the incident from him, using half-truths and lies. Mrs Smith and her husband figure out a way to trap the young woman into revealing her identity, using a detail Mrs Smith had noticed during the brief encounter (a bottle of pills that they conclude is a special type of allergy medicine). Mrs Smith confronts Linda when she picks up her next bottle of pills at a local pharmacy. Linda's disguise is totally compromised when Mrs Smith recognizes the car Linda was entering (it is Joe Kings car). Linda confesses, and pleads with Smith to keep the secret. Smith readily agrees (sincerely) to keep it secret, even from her own husband. Smith is fascinated with the details of his May/September union that she learns from Linda. Over the next few weeks the two women become close friends. They begin to trust each other with many secrets. They have lengthy discussions about effects of women's beauty. When they discuss Joe's concerns, Smith becomes persuaded to Linda's claim that Joe really would divorce Linda if Linda's youth became known to others. Linda and Mrs Smith conclude that numerous injustices are associated with beauty-related injustices. One of these is the prejudice against May/September unions between a younger man and an older woman (which leaves older women all the more vulnerable to the threat of loneliness and being unable to find a mate). |
| What do you think of the Part 2 plot? |
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