Chapter 6
Blonde Sheryl Waters walked reluctantly down the sidewalk, flanked on both sides by a group of women of all sizes, shapes, ages, and descriptions. At the moment, the fiftyish woman on her left was talking, but then she usually was. The woman was ponderous, wearing pastel-colored print dress that made her massive breasts resemble the continental shelf sewn with springtime flowers. She was nodding her head very determinedly, looking at the twenty-three year old Sheryl through her tortoise-shell reading glasses. "I understand your hesitation," she said in a tart contralto, her tone brooking no argument. But this is a very momentous occasion. It isn't every day that Women Forward! present the professional Sistership Award, you realize!" "Y-Yes," Sheryl stammered, trying to keep up with the other woman's long strides. She had to be careful how she spoke to Miss Elmira Flagstaff; after all, she was the chapter president! "Yes, I know, but I really think a luncheon would be better...."
"Nonsense, dear girl!" Miss Flagstaff chirped. "Why, the whole reason behind this award is to commend a dedicated businesswoman fighting against the shackles of male chauvinist oppression!"
"We must point out strongly that she works," Mrs. Agnes Greeb added in her nasal twang. She sniffed, damping her long red nose with a handkerchief. "A luncheon is exactly the kind of 'women's job' we're trying to overcome. A fostering of the professional woman on an equal basis with men is exactly what we want!"
"And I brought my Brownie," added another Women Forward! member from behind Sheryl. "We can snap a picture of her at work, for the monthly bulletin!"
"But to do this secretly...." Sheryl shook her head, still not convinced that the chapter was doing the correct thing.
"A surprise!" Miss Flagstaff exclaimed. "Catch her in the act, so to speak, so we can get a true portrait of a selfless, dedicated American woman. All the best photos have been candid like that, and it's much more thrilling an occasion then, don't you think?"
"Miss Thompson will be charmed, I'm sure!" Mrs. Greeb trilled. She opened the doors of the Medical-Dental Building to let the others file into the lobby. "And you, Sheryl, you will be right there first-hand to present the award - her very best friend! Oh, I'm so excited!"
God, this had been so spontaneous for her, she hadn't even had a chance to phone and warn Angie! Sheryl shivered inwardly with apprehension as she recalled what her roommate had been doing yesterday afternoon with that little teenager. "I just wonder," she muttered under her breath, "what she'll be doing when we catch her in the act!"
"Whatever it is," Miss Flagstaff said as a final word, "you may be sure it will be with all the professionalism of today's truly liberated woman!"