Henery X.

(This is the other story I was talking about for the other story, Woman's Club. Please read all of the stories if you want to read the other one. If you really just want to go to the other one, read the first and last three paragraphs. Thank you! Enjoy!)

My name's Henery X. I was born right here in the west, the mayor's son. My mother knows all the women in town and is a bit of a gossip. Not all the women in town liked her, but all of them respected her, and everyone with a pair of eyes and ears knew it. Even the blind and deaf. I was the most respected child in the entire town. This made me the most popular guy in school, but also the most liked by teachers. If no one was nice enough to me, then I made sure to tell my dad. He always took care of it. And the day after, the person I complained about was gone. Out of my life forever. The same went for my mom.

We never questioned it. Ever. In fact, we barely noticed or thanked him for getting rid of them. No one questioned our authority. My dad was basically the president of our own town. The Messiah, the king. He was basically worshipped. He was nice to all of them though, so it was more like he was being nice to them. They voted him to be the mayor every time we held an election because nobody else wanted to be mayor. I think once there was another candidate, but that was it. No one voted for him anyway, and he moved out of town shortly after that.

And that's just the way life is. The way that it is. Now and forever. At least, that's what I have known since I was young. That is it. All for our town. My dad was the mayor, my mom a gossip, the popular smart kid, and the most respected family with no bad things. Getting things for free from some stores even. I had it all, the most perfect life. Even my mother was liked, in her own way. She has her own group of people. So yeah, perfect family, Best family. I never had a bad day. No one questioned me. I had it all. Even the kids respected me. Young babies to old people. Even if I gave someone a bad comment or remark.

Praised by all. It was like I was a prince. So, I got the first pick of all the ladies. So when I turned seventeen, and of course didn't want to leave the town, I knew that I would get to be the next mayor. I was the best pick for the job too. But I had to find a wife first. First, we had the easiest of all the most definitely not, but we had to at least make them feel better. "Hon, I know that you do not want any of the girls from the outskirts of town. I know all of them to look funny and smell odd. But you should at least look at them to make them feel better about themselves."

And so, on April first, 1987, we saw the first of all the sixteen and seventeen-year-old girls from the outskirts of town. All were ugly and smelled terrible. But my mom made me keep a smile on my face and shake all of their hands. At the end of the line of girls I went to the side of the line, them facing me and declared that none of them would make for proper suitors. When they asked why I said, "None of you look the part. And you're too far out of town. A girl from the inside of town is what I need." With that, the girls looked upset but walked away mumbling to themselves.

Some it was clear they tried to look presentable, but they were just not good enough for me. Nice, but not for me. Maybe to someone else though. Then came the girls of the same age group from an inner part of town, but not the closest. They all looked the same. And were clearly trying too hard when it came down with some of them. I chose my top five, which my mother wrote down the names of and said we would call. Then came the inner part of town girls. They were all girls I had see before and went to school with. Of those girls I picked ten. So in total of all my picks, I was to go out on dates with fifteen girls.

When I got home my dad said, "Boy, you are turning into quite the little ladies man, aren't you. All the girls in town and you have fifteen in your hand. I'm proud of you son." With that he smiled and I went to bed. I was happy that my dad was happy. The next week, I went on fifteen different walks in the parks, where my mom stood two yards apart from us behind us. If I called no, it was on with the next girl. If I called yes, my mom put a check next to their name and went on with the next girl. In total, there were five girls who I said no to. They were not my type as it turned out. Which was fine. But I had to go on.

The week after that, I went on ten dates, as my mom sat on the other side. These consisted of a breakfast, a lunch-in, and a dinner. All with different girls for each meal. By the end of the week, I had three girls who were still possible suitors. The last was not a date, an attraction test, or a walk. No, this was more like an interview. There were ten questions in total. If they were not really answered to my liking or was what I was thinking, their names were crossed out. Only one remained. I was flexible of course, any answer that was close to what I wanted could work. But overall, only one was truly meant for me.

Two days later we went on a picnic, I proposed, and that was that. A few months later, we were married, and then I ran for mayor. But, I felt sad inside. Like I was missing something. Even though I loved my bride and being mayor, I felt like I had no love in my life. My mother and father moved to another town altogether, and my wife was never home. Niether was I, but when I was, she was not. One day, I was looking for a secretary. One of the applicants for the job was a girl who I had denied when I was first looking for a bride. And then we started an affair. I realized that I did not love my wife but instead her.

Secretly, we got married. And soon after that, I got a divorce. I have not been happier since.