Faye Worthington

Welcome to Grayville, where women learn about the power of love, friendship, and the battles of everyday life. Meet Becca Mantra, who is having a secret love affair and doesn't realize she's pushing her husband Jay over the edge. Why is she so happy about her infidelity with a woman half her age? Maybe it’s because Tuckie Brice, a greasy mechanic at Monkey’s Garage who suffers from depression, is actively seeking psychological help for her problems, while Jay is not. There’s also psychologist Dr. Sharon Shaw, who sees Tuckie twice a week, falls in love with Trevina Banter, a paperback mystery writer. When Trevina saves Jay from a suicide attempt, she decides to write a strange short story, which has nothing to do with her prize-winning sleuth. And then there’s Julia Bevel, an abused wife with a questionable attraction to her best friend, Cindy Cotter. When she steps out of her comfort zone and makes a physical pass at Cindy, Julia’s visit to Grayville will never be forgotten, and her life changes in dramatic ways. Together the women of Grayville share their individual tribulations and triumphs of everyday life in their small Pennsylvania community.

Welcome to Grayville

Margot. Poor Margot. She doesn’t have the slightest clue how dangerous this place is. How meaningful this refuge is to Steven. How addictive, damning and receptive. How tempting to return to every Tuesday and Thursday evenings while Beth attends her religious cult, so he can speak to, smell, draw in, listen to, and devour Martin Greene and all his allure. Margot thinks that Snyder’s is harmful, a ludicrous place where the rowdy and alcoholic heathens of a male underworld play, but what would she say of this place and all its tomes, its ceiling-reaching shelves, thick dust, and Steven’s unyielding interest in its beloved owner? What would Margot think of the sexual mind-antics he suffers between these scandalous periodicals and bedtime tales?


Chapter 23